The present invention relates generally to ventilators used in commercial kitchens, and more particularly, to a ventilator hood which includes an internal damper.
Kitchen ventilator hoods have long been provided for the purpose of exhausting steam, smoke and particulates such as grease which are produced in the commercial kitchen environment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,635 describes a kitchen ventilator with a movable damper in a lower section of the ventilator near an air inlet slot, where the damper can be pivoted between open and closed positions. Other prior art ventilators have used a damper which is located in a duct collar located at the top of the ventilator such that the damper is normally located within the ceiling of a kitchen upon installation. However, in such arrangements access to the damper for purposes of repair or for monitoring its continued operation is difficult, particularly where the duct collar is positioned within a duct shaft when installed. Further, placement of the damper in the duct collar can make installations difficult, particularly when dealing with ceilings or duct shafts.
In one aspect of the present invention, a kitchen ventilator includes a hood structure for positioning over a cooking area. The hood structure includes a front side having a module slot which receives at least one removable extractor module. An air inlet slot is positioned below the extractor module when the extractor module is mounted in the module slot. A duct collar is located along a top of the hood structure. The extractor module defines at least one grease extraction baffle along a flow path from the air inlet slot to the duct collar when the extractor module is mounted in the module slot. A multi-position damper is located within the hood structure and is positionable in both an exhaust position and a non-exhaust position. The damper is positioned across the flow path when in the non-exhaust position for preventing flow of gases through the hood structure to the duct collar, and the damper is positioned above the module slot when in the non-exhaust position so as to prevent flow of gases through the hood structure to the duct collar even when the extractor module is removed from the module slot.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a kitchen ventilator including a hood structure for positioning over a cooking area. The hood structure includes an air inlet slot positioned toward a lower portion of the hood structure. An exhaust duct collar is positioned at a top side of the hood structure. At least one grease extraction baffle is located along a flow path from the air inlet slot to the duct collar. A multi-position damper is located within the hood structure, and is positionable in both an exhaust position and a non-exhaust position. The damper is positioned across the flow path when in the non-exhaust position for preventing flow of gases through the hood structure to the duct collar, and the damper is positioned in an upper section of the hood structure spaced away from the air inlet slot and spaced from the duct collar.